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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24765295">The Mourning of Marianne</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707'>bethany81707</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stories of Garreg Mach [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Betrayal, Depression, F/M, Flash Fic, Gen, Preparing for Death, Suicidal Thoughts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:07:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24765295</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Finding Marianne on Faerghus's side is hard enough for the friends that would one day fight her, and Marianne herself doesn't exactly have a good time of it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Marianne von Edmund</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Stories of Garreg Mach [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Hilda's Side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Hilda was rather surprised to find Leonie hanging around with Ignatz and Raphael, rather than Ferdinand. When Leonie looked up at her arrival and approached with an expression of fear, Hilda realised that Leonie was there for exactly the reason she didn’t realise she knew. Hilda spared a glance for Ignatz and Raphael, but matching expressions rested upon their faces. The truth was already among them, but they would have to hear it confirmed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Marianne’s on Faerghus’s side,” Hilda said. Of the four members of the Golden Deer serving in this army, only she had been close enough to confirm it. Marianne stood by Dimitri’s side, not as a hostage, but as a lover, ready and willing to fire upon those Adrestian soldiers who actually got close.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is she…” Ignatz began.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, she got taken out of the battle by… something. She’s still alive… alive to be in the next fight,” Hilda said. She wasn’t gonna cry… she was too pretty to cry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s not one of </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>, right?” Leonie asked. Hilda wanted to say she was. To say she had been infested with an Agarthan stone and was acting against her will would make things much easier. But unfortunately, she had the same question and made sure to fly close enough to look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Her chest’s clear. She’s sided with Dimitri on her own,” Hilda said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But… but why? We’re her classmates, we’re her friends…” Raphael babbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...She loved Dimitri. I don’t… there’s… she trusted the Blue Lions as much as she trusted us. More, possibly,” Hilda choked. Leonie brought an arm around, while Ignatz clenched his fist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...I’m sorry, Hilda. I was helping Bernadetta… I should’ve noticed the problem brewing in my own class,” Ignatz said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, Ignatz, Bernie needed help too. It was all me. Helping Marianne was my duty,” Hilda cried. She had her head in her arms, and there was no doubt they’d find tears if Leonie pulled them away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It should’ve been all of us. Instead of making Marianne feel welcome with us, we all spread out. No wonder Marianne found comfort with the Blue Lions,” Raphael said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey now, that wasn’t our fault! The Blue Lions were all so nice to her when she came to them. There was no reason we shouldn’t have let her stay with them. We didn’t know they were going to side with…” Leonie called, the last words dying in her throat. Somehow, calling Rhea a monster didn’t come out right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I remember when I got the news Edmund got razed. I knew the reports said Marianne was probably alive… but I couldn’t believe it. But I guess it makes sense, why Faerghus even bothered attacking Edmund if they weren’t going to press on. They wanted Dimitri’s queen,” Ignatz said. That night had stuck with him- there were very few nights where it had been Ignatz crying himself to sleep on Bernadetta’s shoulder, rather than the other way around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was right there… if I had just attacked the boat that left with her on it… I could’ve gotten her back… but no… I had to be afraid of Felix… Felix would never have agreed to let Marianne sink this low…” Hilda sobbed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...But Felix agreed to kidnap her in the first place,” Leonie pointed out. She couldn’t quite tell how comforting a fact that was supposed to be. Hilda only seemed to cry louder in response, so it wasn’t a particularly good one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Hilda… we’re going to get Marianne back. You said it yourself- she’s not one of </span>
  <em>
    <span>them</span>
  </em>
  <span>. We can bring her back to our side, it’s not going to be Lorenz all over!” Raphael exclaimed. Hilda choked a little, and Leonie thought thrice about voicing her retort. No use beating around the bush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Raphael, if Marianne’s fighting with Dimitri of her own accord… we’re not bringing her back to our side with a short conversation. And if we wind up killing Dimitri, I don’t think long ones will do the trick,” Leonie said. She tightened her grip around Hilda as she said this, daring to believe she was wrong- that Marianne would come back to them if they just rescued her, that she would turn on Faerghus after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...So you lot all know about Marianne now,” Bethany remarked. The Deer jumped, all looking up at Beth with familiar looks of focus. Even if Hilda’s tear and makeup streaked face did not wear it well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll get her back, Teach…” Hilda sobbed. Beth gave the barest of glances downwards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...Wait, did you know about this?” Ignatz asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw Dimitri rescue Marianne from some strange plot not too far from where we were camped, way back in Gideon. I didn’t know what was known about the Edmund thing, but I figured Marianne was just Dimitri’s captive. I didn’t know she was with them of her own free will!” Beth explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you save her?” Hilda asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With what? By the time I noticed her, Dimitri had already gotten there, and there was no way I was going to get anywhere nearer to him than I already was without a bloody nose I’d have to explain to Dorothea and Edelgard,” Beth said. Although a straight fight with Dimitri would probably end in broken bones for most people, none of the Deer doubted Beth could escape with as little as a bloody nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“...So what, are we just going to kill her? It’s not her fault she’s fighting with Faerghus, why does she have to suffer for it?” Raphael asked. The idea sounded better in all of their heads, but they could not escape the reality. If they were going to kill Dimitri, Marianne’s death was inextricably linked. And if they were going to do anything about Rhea, there was almost no question that Dimitri had to die for it. The alternative was Dimitri seeing reason, accepting that his understanding of the surrounding circumstances was false.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And if Marianne couldn’t convince him, what hope did they have?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Marianne's Side</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marianne couldn’t help but think of Hilda’s face, having seen her after her two years in Faerghus. The hurt in her eyes struck her worse than any blow she might’ve cared to swing, but Hilda had not been inclined to do anything of the sort. She had contented herself with inspecting her chest before withdrawing, and Marianne had heard enough rumours to at least understand why. The black stones that infested people and made them fight for the Agarthans liked to rest there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Hilda thought she might’ve been one of them, she clearly believed the thought of Marianne fighting for Faerghus was uncharacteristic. And Marianne very much would rather have stayed home rather than choose a side between Dimitri and Hilda. But Dimitri would be lost without her. With her, he was little more than Rhea’s brutish pawn, but there was still that last shred of hope. The hope that, when all was said and done, Faerghus would regain its king and she would retain her prince.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The odds, however, were not in their favour. With the battle they fought in Fraldarius, Rodrigue and Dedue had fallen, joining what was now the majority of the Faerghan elite. Now, it was herself, Dimitri and Sylvain that still remained. Faerghus had little left to protect Rhea, and Rhea was extremely angry about that fact. Her Immaculate form, which she was starting to assume more regularly than the familiar, safe human form, had taken to eating Faerghans who failed to give her a wide berth. There would be no doubt that, if the Faerghans failed to win the next battle, there would be no quarter from Seiros. Considering the battlefield they were likely to fight on would be none other than the Tailtean Plains on Fhirdiad’s doorstep, this was hardly something that purely came down to Rhea’s mood, but it was a fact nonetheless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marianne had come into her room to desert, following that revelation. No matter her dedication to Dimitri, there was no way she could stay on Rhea’s side any longer. But as soon as she had gotten her bags open to start tossing what few travel ready possessions she had in, she had begun reconsidering. Felix had warned her that her faith in Dimitri would tear her apart as it had himself. He had died in Charon, his last journal entry describing his acceptance of his fate and his wonder at the nature of Dimitri’s mental state. Marianne wondered if she, too, would die thinking the same thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she started wondering what it would be like to die before Dimitri, Marianne seized upon the thought that she would die afterwards- the Golden Deer still cared for her, and would no doubt aim to capture her and bring her back to their side. And to their credit, Edelgard’s banner had her full support. But without Dimitri… knowing that she had thrown away the last two years of her life… Hilda would no doubt welcome her back with open arms, and a Freikugel for anyone who decided she wasn’t welcome. But Marianne knew it would be a hollow life. Hilda, looking after her out of fear and pity… there wasn’t a life in that. No, Marianne would do her best to make sure Dimitri lived, and would die trying. It would be for the best.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dimitri… your friends would never have fought for Rhea… Felix stayed for you. I stayed for you. Ingrid left for herself, and is all the happier for it. Please… give up your revenge. Edelgard has suffered so much to become the woman she is today. She wouldn’t wish that on anyone else. She didn’t wish it on you…” Marianne muttered. She had spent two years trying to reason with Dimitri, two years turning over every argument that came to her mind to get him to stop thinking about exacting revenge on Edelgard and thinking about the long term health of himself, his people, and the people who loved him the most. But there would be no opportunity quite like her last. If she was to die on the battlefield, she had every intention of dying in Dimitri’s arms. Perhaps seeing his queen’s blood spilling into the perpetually sodden grass of the Tailtean Plains would get Dimitri to finally listen to the words spilling from her mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Faerghus had a dark and cold place for the souls who died regretting their failures. If there was one thing her death could accomplish, making sure Dimitri did not find himself there was going to be it. Though she was of Leicester descent, and Leicester largely subscribed to an overall more pleasant theory of the afterlife, Marianne wondered whether death would claim her a Faerghan or a Leicestan. And if she failed Dimitri, if she accepted that ‘happy’ ending and lived the rest of her days in Hilda’s shadow, she wondered whether she would be made to follow him. They would at least be in misery together, but Marianne would rather spend eternity apart than condemn them both to that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least, Marianne thought, she had no intention of finding her own way to the afterlife. If there was one good thing she had learned from being with the Faerghans, it was loyalty and holding out for your cause. Not that it had done the Faerghans much good, not that it had done her much good, but the Marianne who had met Dimitri years ago would never have so much as survived to see this day. She had indeed been strengthened, even if that strength was not enough to overcome this last obstacle. She could only imagine what Dimitri would be like if she had ended her life sooner. No doubt Rhea would not have even considered him worth sparing in Fraldarius. Her presence had done that much… she could only hope it would do that little bit more. She had been hoping for quite a lot of things in vain for months, but it was at least hope.</span>
</p>
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